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The Theme of Loneliness in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck This essay will describe the way loneliness is shown in 'Of Mice and Men.' Most of the characters are lonely and the only thing that keeps them alive is their dreams. Some of the loneliest characters we come across in the novel are Candy, an old man with only one hand, Crooks, a black cripple and Curley's Wife, a woman who has no name; she is lonely even though she is married. Although they are all on the ranch together, they are lonely because of who they are and their history. 'Of Mice and Men' is a story with many different themes and characters. George Milton and Lennie Small are friends who travel together. They both share the same dream, which is to one day own their own ranch. George is quick-witted and intelligent. He takes the role of looking after Lennie, a simple-minded man who in the book is described as a giant. Lennie is kind hearted with huge physical strength. He does not know how powerful he is and likes to pet animals. The other men on the ranch find their relationship unusual, they do not know of their past. George describes himself and Lennie as the loneliest guys in the world. 'Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They belong in no place.' George feels sorry for himself; he can see how his life has turned out and in my opinion cant really see much of a future in it. This loneliness therefore makes both him and Lennie have a dream that motivates them to work. It is the one thing that they are living for. They constantly bring it up in conversation, and Lennie always seems to get very ex... ... middle of paper ... ...lonely characters feel they can talk to Lennie, as they know he will not tell anyone. Crooks is treated as an outcast because he is black. Black people were seen as outcasts in the time period of this book. Curley is a small ex-boxer. He is one of the most violent characters on the ranch. He hopes that by being violent and aggressive towards the weaker people, he will make them scared of him, and listen to him. However he gets scared and avoids harder characters, such as Slim. He reckons he is better than everyone else and thinks everyone is scared. 'He wore a work glove on his left hand, and, like the boss, he wore high-heeled boots.' According to Candy, the work glove that Curley wears is full of Vaseline to keep his hands soft for his wife. This shows he does actually care for her, or he is just using her.
takes note of every detail of their being. He especially pays attention to the leader of the
In the novel, Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck used George and Lennie's relationship and the theme of hope to point out the loneliness in the novel. The novel starts off and is set in Soledad which means lonely. At the beginning they get a job working on a farm together. Lennie is a little retarded and has great physical strength that isn't too controllable. As they work from ranch to ranch, Lennie relies on George for guidance and help. Rather than wasting their earnings, they try to save it in the hope of buying a place of their own. While working at one ranch they meet a worker named Candy who tries to help them financially. Before their dream can be fulfilled, Lennie kills the wife of the boss's son. As the novel concludes George must kill Lennie for his own benefit. Later Lennie goes into town and abandons his dream by spending his money.
also to climb the social ladder. He views himself as a man of a high
Throughout the novel, Of Mice and Men (by John Steinbeck), loneliness is the major underlying theme of the novel. You could almost say that the book has hormonal' up's and down's. Most of the characters are very lonely because they have no family. However, George and Lennie are the contradiction to this. George and Lennie's bond towards each other are so- strong that you can almost see it as you are reading the book. Candy the old crippled man wants to be part of George and Lennie's dream to own a farm and "live off the fatta the land". Curley and his dog are like the metaphor in the book for George and Lennie. Candy has to take care of his dog and George of Lennie. The other two characters in the novel that are apart of the overall theme of loneliness are crooks the crippled stable buck and Curley's wife the flirtatious city girl. Crook's fits in to the loneliness theme because he is black. During this time in history, there was very little racial empathy. So being black means that he is isolated from everyone else at the ranch. Speaking of isolation, curley's wife feels very isolated because her husband, Curley, doesn't trust her at all, however, because Curley is so strict and concerned about her flirting with other guys it almost fuels her desire to cause trouble.
Born 1902 in California, John Steinbeck grew up in a hard time for America. The Great Depression hit in 1929, leaving thousands of American people jobless, homeless, and poor. Along with this, the Dust Bowl occurred in 1931, which also killed and starved thousands. During this time period, many people did not have a home, and moved from farm to farm in order to feed themselves. John Steinbeck was one of the hundreds of thousands of migrant farm workers during this time. All of Steinbeck’s books are based off of American history, and migrant farm workers in the eyes of the people. In his novel, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck uses the characters Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s wife to contribute to the overall theme of loneliness.
The great and famous author john Steinbeck once said, “All great and precious things are lonely.” In the Steinbeck book Of Mice and Men, many of the characters show their loneliness in many different ways. Candy, Curley's wife, and Crooks all show perfect examples of how they are lonely. The characters in of mice and men show that loneliness is a problem that must be overcome in order to live a happy, fulfilled life.. all three of these characters know what is feels like to be lonely.
Thus, he can gain other character’s trust.
The book “Of Mice and Men” is a novella written by John Steinbeck. It was set during The Great Depression in the 1930s. The two main characters are George and Lennie. They both travel together and have their dream of owning their own Ranch. Out of the many themes in the book, Steinbeck portrays Loneliness greatly throughout the novella. Some of the characters who feel isolated are George, one of the protagonists, Crooks, a black worker on the ranch, and Curley’s wife. Loneliness is the result from lack of companionship and is an emotional response to isolation.
around him to trick them to play a part in a strategy he has so
In his novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck depicts the essential loneliness of California ranch life in the 1930s. He illustrates how people are driven to find companionship. There were so many moments of loneliness and sadness throughout the novel, including many deaths. Following the deaths, they were very unexpected making the novel more intense and latch onto it more.
novel because it is in the middle of no-where so that it is hard to
sit in on conversations and based upon the situation he may ask a question or two. The
they look upon. He is a man of shape and form (and of authority) and
He wore rubber bands around the bottom of his pant legs to keep the ticks away. On his head he wore an old leather hat which he never removed. As early as I can remember I worked at Arthur’s side. The first lesson he ever taught me was